The First Fleet of ships from England arrived in Sydney in 1788. This represented
the first European settlement of the continent, although aborigines had already
been living in Australia for tens of thousand of years. For the first twenty-five
years the new inhabitants were confined to the coastal strip around Sydney as
no way could be found across the Blue Mountains, part of the Great Dividing
Range which runs parallel to the east coast of Australia for almost the coast's
entire length.

When, in 1813, a way across the Blue Mountains was found, a wave of inland
exploration was unleashed which continued for the next fifty years. New areas
were opened up for settlement and several expeditions were commissioned by the
government and by private backers to ascertain whether an inland sea existed.
This remarkable period in Australian history was documented by many of the explorers
themselves, who kept journals of their exploration. These journals were usually
published soon after the conclusion of each expedition, and particularly appealed
to people in England who took quite an interest in the "opening up" of the "new"
continent. Moreover, many of those journals have been reprinted in facsimile
editions, which mean that they are accessible to the modern reader, though they
are by not readily available at all public libraries.

A number of Project Gutenberg volunteers in Australia have transcribed
these Australian exploration journals and most are now available at Project
Gutenberg, including a a number of HTML versions, with illustrations and maps
from the original publications. These ebooks provide a wonderful resource for
students, researchers anfd general readers. Links to these ebooks, together
with reproductions of maps showing the extent of the exploration undertaken,
and other information relating to Australian land and sea exploration are available
from links on the exploration timeline on this page, or from the Explorers
Journals page.

'The History
of Australian Exploration' by Ernest Favenc.
This book outlines the history of Australian land and sea exploration to 1888,
with introductions to both areas of exploration. Details of the work of both
major and minor explorers are covered, with generous quotations from the works
of the explorers themselves and reproduction of a number of relevant
documents.

'Australian Discovery'
by Sir Ernest Scott. This on-line resource
contains extracts from the journals of many sea and land explorers including
Tasman, Dampier, Cook, Flinders, Blaxland, Sturt, Giles and Leichhardt. The
introduction to each volume provides an overview of sea and land exploration
relating to Australia. The maps and figures from the books are reproduced.
In a number of cases the complete Journal, from which the extrtact in Scott's
book has been taken, may be downloaded from the page now being viewed. (Refer
to the "Autobiographical Publications" column in the Exploration
Time Line,, below, for links.)

Dictionary
of Australian Biography Biographies of more than 1000 people prominent
in the development of Australia--explorers, artists, politicians, scientists,
etc. All died before the end of 1942.

Early Explorers in Australia
by Ida Lee. An account of early exploration
with extracts from the log-books and journals of the explorers. Extensive
treatment is given of Allan Cunningham's botanical exploration by land and
sea.

Exploration Time Line--Australian land and sea
exploration.
[For Antartcic Exploration see the entries at the end of the Time Line]

This time line contains links to many ebooks created from the journals and
first hand accounts written by Australian land and sea explorers. All ebooks
are available in PLAIN TEXT format, and many are available in HTML, together
with illustrations from the original publication. Generally the HTML file and
the illustrations have been 'zipped' to save space and to make the ebook available
as one downloadable file. Check the links shown below in the "Autobiographical
Publications" column. Works are continually being added. If you experience
any problems, or have any suggestions, please contact me. Col Choat.

*** (Refer to the Time Line at the Australian
Discovery pagefor a more detailed list of events from 1606 to 1770.) ***

Looking for the Ridderschap van Holland, Willem
De Vlamingh charted the Perth region with the vessels Geelvinck,
Nijptang and Weseltje. He travelled 80 kms inland on the Swan
River with ship's artist Victorszoon, making pictorials of the coast. De
Vlamingh replaced Hartog's pewter plate and then charted Christmas Island
on his return trip.

Found a way through the Blue Mountains and thus
opened up the way to the west. (Map)

The Journal of Gregory Blaxland, 1813, edited by Frank Walker
(1861-1948)? (Incorporating "Journal of a Tour of Discovery Across
the Blue Mountains, NSW, in the year 1813". This ebook is available
from the Australian Explorers Journals
page.

Reached Jervis Bay by way of the Kangaroo and
Lower Shoalhaven rivers. Left the Cowpastures, and travelling south-south-west,
then west, north-west, and north-north-west, finished journey near site
of Bathurst.

Discoveries in Australia, with an Account
of the Coasts and Rivers Explored and Surveyed During the Voyage of H.M.S.
Beagle, in the Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. Also a Narrative of Captain
Owen Stanley's Visits to the Islands in the Arafura Sea.). This ebook
is available from the Australian Explorers
Journals page.

Successful Exploration through the Interior
of Australia. From the Journals and Letters of William John Wills. Edited
by his father, William Wills. This ebook is available from the Australian
Explorers Journals page.

Explored from Blackall to the Diamantina River,
then through unexplored country between the Burke and Herbert Rivers to
Buchanan's Creek. Explored in the country to the south of the Gulf of Carpentaria,
and in the north-west of Western Australia.

Left Alice Springs in March 1889 and returned
to Charlotte Waters in July. He reported no new country suitable for settlement,
but discovered Lake MacDonald, the Kintore Range, Mount Rennie, and the
Cleland Hills. He defined the western borders of Lake Amadeus andphotographed
Ayers Rock and Mount Olga for the first time.